


What They're Looking For

by ahundredgyozas



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: 2nd person POV, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Girls Being Girls, Introspection, Light Angst, Multi, Post-Canon, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-11 00:44:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4414412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahundredgyozas/pseuds/ahundredgyozas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p> "The minimum requirement for getting in the zone… to put it simply, it's to love basketball more than anything else." - Kise Ryouta (Vol 19, Chpt 165)</p>
</blockquote><p>Kagami goes on a date with a girl. Things do not go quite as she had hoped.</p>
<p>Warning - one-sided OC -> Kagami, one-sided Momoi -> Aomine, squint-with-a-telescope Aokaga.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What They're Looking For

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNING** \- this is not your typical aokaga fic. it isn't even your typical knb fic, but i had to either write it or get ravaged by angry plot bunnies. as such, I'm about 500% uncertain about how this piece turned out, but since it's already been written (weeks ago in fact) i just decided to post it anyway. 
> 
> this is written in 2nd person POV, and features (unrequited) F -> M love, so do take note before you decide whether to read this. 
> 
> alternate title - how basketball ruined kagami and aomine for everyone (else) OR my take on aokaga's canonical soulmate-ness

The first time you see him, it is 8.40am on a Monday morning. You are standing with your class at the campus courtyard, idly wondering when morning assembly is going to start. Like all the other first years, you are trying to be on your best behaviour, but the bright morning sun is making you feel warm and slightly impatient. Still, it has only been a couple of days into the new term, and you are still unfamiliar with your classmates, your teachers and your surroundings. A feeling of trepidation wells up within you, and you can't help but fidget restlessly, hoping that you'll at least make a couple of friends within the next few days.  
   
Caught up in your worries, you don't notice the small crowd of students standing on the roof of the main school building, until a boy leaps gracefully onto the railing. Paying no heed to the collective gasp emanating from the entire student body, he balances precariously on the balls of his feet and yells out his class, name, and what seems to be a resolution to do… what? Your heart had stopped at the sight of his reckless action, and you don't actually remember what he had announced to the gawking students in the courtyard.  
   
Later on, you find out that this boy, along with the rest of the students on the roof, were part of Seirin's basketball team, and that the declarations on the roof were part of a strange rite of initiation for first years. You also learn, much to your amusement, that the vice-principal had subsequently given them an earful for disrupting morning assembly. You laugh along with the rest of your classmates at the absurdity of the club's traditions, and soon forget about the whole incident.  
   
What had struck you though, was the way he had cut an imposing figure overlooking the school - tall, proud and arrogant.  
   
You also can't forget the colour of his eyes, two crimson pools burning like fire under the morning sun.  
   
\---  
   
The next time you see him, you are already settling well at Seirin High. The campus is new and pristine, the lessons rather interesting, and you have yet to fall asleep in any of them. You could not have asked for a friendlier class than Class 1-A, and you had even made a good friend in your table partner, Mariko. You feel rather blessed, and slightly excited at spending the new academic year with her.  
   
That is, until Mariko decides to drag you along to Seirin's gym one afternoon. You find out later from a rather breathless Mariko that the famous model Kise Ryouta had decided to pay Seirin's male basketball team a visit. Ah, that Kise Ryouta. You've seen his pictures plastered everywhere in Tokyo, and even you can't deny that he doesn't deserve every bit of attention he gets. According to Mariko, Kise had been playing basketball in his middle school, and was part of some prodigious team dubbed the "Generation of Miracles". He was subsequently scouted into Kaijou High to play for their team, and was in Seirin only to visit an old friend.  
   
As it is, Mariko isn't the only enthusiastic fan, judging by the number of girls already milling about in the gym. From your position at the doorway, you can barely see Kise perched on the stage, signing autographs with practiced ease. You do note, however, the basketball team standing a distance away, observing the whole commotion warily. That is, until all of you are unceremoniously booted out of the gym by the only female member on the team - the manager, you assume - who is evidently not as enamoured with Kise as the other girls are.  
   
Ever the loyal friend, though, you sneak up with Mariko to the viewer's gallery. You are neither very sporty, nor are you that infatuated with Kise Ryouta, and so you amuse yourself by watching Mariko's star-struck expression as she gazes raptly at Kise. That is until Mariko lets out an indignant gasp, and turns to you, clutching your arm tightly. You wince in pain, and she informs you that someone had the " _gall_ to fling a ball at Ryouta-kun's perfect face - how _dare_ him, I will _flay_ him into pieces, I swear!"  
   
There is nothing more entertaining than schoolyard drama, and so Mariko's outburst makes you sit up. You immediately recognise the crimson-haired boy who leapt up onto the railing a few Monday mornings ago, and he is evidently goading Kise into playing a game with him.  
   
To Mariko's utter joy, Kise takes off his blazer and tie. Mariko is even more delighted when Kise overwhelms the redhead in their mini-game, knocking the boy onto the floor and landing lightly on his feet. You feel a slight shred of concern and pity for the boy. Granted, he admittedly was the one who initiated this face-off, but he probably didn't know who the Generation of Miracles were and what he was getting himself into.  
   
The redhead picks himself off the floor, and to your surprise he smiles, despite the obvious blow to his pride. It is a small smile, but you can't help but shiver slightly at the look in his eyes. It is a look full of fire, a look that betrays his joy, excitement and determination, and a look full of promise.  
   
Just like fire, his expression is branded in your memory.  
   
\---  
   
You find out from your classmate Kawahara later on that the redhead is one Kagami Taiga, number 5 from Class 1-B, and that he had resolved to "defeat the Generation of Miracles to become the best player in Japan" on that memorable Monday morning.

You casually mention him to Mariko the next day, and she giggles at you in that infuriating way of hers that totally means that she knows something you don't.  
   
\---  
   
You think it is fate that you keep seeing him around school after that eventful day.  
   
Mariko thinks you're just keeping an eye out for him.  
   
"I'm not especially looking out for him," you tell Mariko indignantly, "he has bright red hair - of course I'd notice him around!"  
   
Mariko rolls her eyes and tells you you're lying to yourself, and you frown at her in response.  
   
You also pointedly ignore her when she slyly tells you that she has “insider information” (you are going to kill Kawahara, that idiot) that Kagami likes elegant girls.

It definitely has nothing to do with how you decide to talk a little more politely, sit a little more demurely, and eat a little more gracefully. Definitely.  
   
\---  
   
A few months and a few official basketball matches later, you step out of Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium after watching the Winter Cup Finals with an irate Mariko. As she glares at you in discontent for dragging her to the match against her will, you finally admit to her that yes, maybe you do have a little crush on Kagami Taiga - "it's just a little crush you idiot, it's not like I daydream about him or… or lose sleep over him or anything!"  
   
You do, actually, but the less Mariko knows, the better.  
   
\---  
   
Mariko is actually the devil incarnate, you believe, and you are this close to punching her in her face when she produces a confession letter to Kagami she had written on your behalf "in revenge" for making her sit through countless boring basketball matches.  
   
When she gleefully shoves it into his shoe cupboard, however, you only half-heartedly try to retrieve it.

Better sooner than later, after all. 

\---

It is an utterly unromantic and harrowing confession scene, filled with clammy hands, stuttering voices, and thoughts of _what-am-I-even-doing-why-am-I-doing-this_ running through your mind.

Still, although you feel much better after making your declaration, you can't help but notice Kagami recoil, as though he's not sure of how to react.  


You almost start tearing in disappointment.

Not wanting to seem weak, you hastily scrub at your eyes.

Three weeks later, you are finally on a date with Kagami Taiga.

\---  
   
True to your hopes and shoujo-manga inspired fantasies, Kagami is a perfect gentleman during the date.  
   
Or at least, he tries to be.  
   
He doesn't open doors for you, nor does he offer to help you carry your bags, but he does stand at a respectable distance next to you while you're both walking, and averts his eyes in an attempt to be polite whenever you talk to him.  
   
You soon find out that Kagami isn't a very good conversationalist, and you have to constantly rack your brains to come up with topics to cover the awkward silences you both occasionally lapse into. However, he visibly relaxes later into the outing as the conversation turns to one the both of you are passionate about - food. You are amazed to learn that unlike other boys your age, Kagami lives alone and is therefore rather adept in the kitchen. When you mention that you enjoy cooking as well, he grins at you, and your heart flutters a little at that.  
   
You end up exchanging recipes and cooking tips for a good part of the hour you spend strolling along the streets of the shopping district. After a while, the both of you coincidentally amble past a neighbourhood basketball court, and you suggest that you take a rest there. He immediately agrees, producing a basketball out from his bag, while you head to the nearest bench to sit.  
   
\---  
   
Unlike what you had made Kagami believe, however, your walking past the basketball court wasn't purely by luck. You had wanted a bit of time alone to sit down to organise your thoughts and emotions, and you knew that basketball would certainly distract Kagami for a while.  
   
You are confused, and a little frustrated.

The date is going on pretty well, or so you think. You weren't demanding, nor were you overbearing. Kagami didn't seem put off by your presence, and he even looked like he had enjoyed a large part of it.

Still, something seemed… wrong about the whole thing. It takes you a few minutes to figure it out, but the realisation leaves a hollow feeling in your stomach.  
   
You realise that although he has shot you a variety of smiles, ranging from cheeky grins to full-bellied laughter, none of them were reflected in his eyes.  
   
\---  
   
You wonder what's wrong, but you don't think it's fair to ask. For someone who is normally awkward around girls, Kagami is evidently trying his best to be a good date.  
   
Maybe he doesn’t like elegant girls after all, you ponder.  
   
Or maybe you’re just not elegant enough.  
   
Or maybe it’s because throughout the whole date, you never really mentioned -  
   
"Eh? Isn't that Kagamin?"

An unfamiliar, female voice interrupts your reverie.  
   
You turn your head, only to notice a pink-haired girl entering the court, dragging along with her a boy with navy blue hair. As a result of your Kagami-motivated foray into the world of high school basketball, you recognise them as Touou Academy basketball team's power couple, Momoi Satsuki and Aomine Daiki.  
   
You’re now even more confused.  
   
Seirin had won Touou at the Winter Cup, and yet -  
   
_They’re friends?_  
   
You banish that thought away as Momoi flounces cheerfully over to where Kagami is, with Aomine following more sedately behind. They exchange pleasantries - you think, you can't really hear them from the bench - or at least Kagami and Momoi do. Aomine merely averts his eyes in apparent disinterest, opting to look anywhere else but at Kagami.  
   
Just as you are feeling a little left out, Aomine notices you sitting by yourself on the bench. He raises an eyebrow at you, and turns back to Kagami, saying something to him. It is obviously a taunt of some sort, for Kagami immediately snarls back in response. A few more insults are exchanged, much to Momoi's increasing distress, and finally Kagami shoves the basketball into Aomine's hands, evidently demanding a match.  
   
\---  
   
A few moments later, Momoi ends up on the same bench as you while the two boys start their game. You exchange introductions, but after a while, Momoi cocks her head, staring at you as though she's trying to work out a puzzle.  
   
"I'm sorry, but I can't help but notice that you're looking a little… sad. Did Kagamin do something to hurt you?"  
   
"No it's nothing, just thinking about something, that's all," you wave her off, a little surprised and unnerved that she can read your emotions so well. It probably comes with her ability to analyse players' skills, you suppose.

"Besides, I should be the one apologising - I'm supposed to be on a date with Kagami-kun, but he's here ruining your date with your boyfriend," you sigh.  
   
"Ah, it’s no matter! And… did you say boyfriend? Dai-chan?" Momoi stares at you quizzically.  
   
You wonder if you've said something wrong, but then you realise that Momoi had addressed Aomine as Dai-chan.  
   
"Er… Aren't you dating Aomine-san?"  
   
"Eh? Dai-chan's not my boyfriend! We're just childhood friends!" Momoi replies, as though that was common knowledge.  
   
You're surprised. You don’t know much about them, but as far as you know, the both of them have been nearly inseparable since their childhood days. That much is common knowledge within the high school basketball community, anyway.  
   
"Well… childhood friends do sometimes fall in love, you know," you decide to tease her, nudging her playfully with your elbow.  
   
Momoi laughs airily. "I don't know why people keep saying that, but it's not like that with us, really!"  
   
"That's a shame," you reply offhandedly. You don't know them well enough to judge their relationship, but even you can see that Aomine is rather physically attractive, notwithstanding his admittedly less than pleasant behaviour at the matches you've seen so far. "Aomine-san seems decent - off the court at least."  
   
"Yeah, he is, I suppose,” Momoi chuckles, “but I just can't imagine dating him, though."  
   
You shrug lightly. It isn't your place to question any further, nor are you particularly curious about the status of their relationship. So you exchange friendly smiles with Momoi, and the both of you lapse into a comfortable silence.  
   
Still, you mull over Momoi's words. You don't have a male childhood friend, so you can't say that you actually understand Momoi's situation.

Maybe it's true then, that a friendship between a male and a female is possible after all, and that all of those romantic clichés stories are only what they are - stories.  
   
"Actually…" Momoi's voice interrupts your idle musings. It is surprisingly soft, and you almost have to strain to hear her, "I have thought about it, you know."

"About dating Dai-chan, I mean."  
   
You look at her in surprise, wondering why she's telling you this, especially given all that she had said previously.

You also wonder how to respond, but Momoi is evidently not looking for a reply, however, for she continues.  
   
"It's not like I'm unfamiliar with those shoujo-manga clichés about childhood friends falling in love. I may be the manager of an all-male basketball team, but I'm still a girl, you know," Momoi's voice is even softer now, and she is seemingly talking to herself at this point, "and sometimes, when I look at Dai-chan, and think of how I'm one of the only ones who gets to see the real him under his gruff exterior, I feel so blessed and so, so lucky. And when Dai-chan does things like go shopping with me despite his constant complaints, or… does things like protect me from overly aggressive suitors, or… or… when he tries to cheer me up whenever I'm feeling down…" she trails off, lost in her own thoughts.  
   
You wait patiently, hesitantly.  
   
"… Yet, no matter how much I wish it, he never once looked at me like I'm the only person that mattered in the world," Momoi finishes quietly.  
   
You are stunned into silence at her sudden confession. Momoi turns to you, a sad smile gracing her pretty features.  
   
Your heart clenches for her.  
   
"But… but… surely what you have to do is to try harder to gain his attention?" you stammer out, hoping that your words don't come off as insensitive, given all that Momoi had just confided in you.  
   
Momoi merely shakes her head. "I know Dai-chan loves me. A lot. But he doesn't love me as much as he loves basketball. Boys…" she laughs, but you can see the melancholy reflected in her eyes.

"They just don't know how to compartmentalise their feelings as well as we do, don't you think?"  
   
Something in her words strikes a chord within you, and for some reason, your stomach churns.  
   
You deliberately ignore it.    
   
"But…" you try again, "you're the manager of the basketball team. Surely he realises…"  
   
Momoi sighs. "I only became the manager of the basketball team because Dai-chan wanted to join the club. I love it, but I don't love it like he does, nor will I ever understand why he loves it so much. You know," Momoi pauses, turning her gaze back to the two boys, now a multi-coloured blur racing across the court. "I used to play basketball with Dai-chan when we were younger, but I gradually stopped when we got older."  
   
Momoi's smile fades, evidently thinking of their childhood days.  
   
"Dai-chan couldn't understand why, and he kept asking me to play again. I tell him that I prefer managerial duties, but the truth is, I couldn't keep up with his talent, and… I never cared enough for basketball to try to."  
   
Momoi takes a deep breath, before pressing on resolutely. "I… I love Dai-chan, and I'll never stop loving him. But I know that he'll never truly be happy with me, because I can't give him what he wants…" At this, Momoi's gaze turns clouded, as though she's relieving a painful memory, "… and what he needs."  
   
The last few words are seemingly tacked on as an afterthought, but you suspect there's more to them than Momoi's letting on. You know better than to pry, however.  
   
Just then, Momoi turns to you, and notices your troubled expression.  
   
“I'm so sorry, I don't know why I'm sharing all of this with you -” she starts to exclaim, but you hastily brush her apology aside with a wave of a hand.  
   
"No, no, it's alright… but… are you okay with all of…" you gesture at nothing in particular, trying to search for the right word, "… this?"  
   
Momoi laughs at the expression of helplessness on your face, but you realise that it is less forced. She looks up at the sky, a slow smile spreading across her face.  
   
"I am, actually - I've accepted long ago that I love Dai-chan too much to take basketball away from him, and I love myself too much to settle for being second best in anyone's eyes, even if that person is Dai-chan. And so, while I love Dai-chan," she suddenly emits a little giggle, "the person I fall _in love_ with will look at me, and at me only. ”  
   
"I think I deserve that much, at least."  
   
You nod mutely in agreement, suddenly gaining a newfound respect for the strong and selfless girl next to you. She is really amazing, you think dazedly.  
   
Momoi continues, oblivious to your inner thoughts.  
   
"Right now, though, as his partner and friend, I'm trying to help Dai-chan find what he's looking for in life, and ah -" she glances back to the two boys, still lost in their own little basketball world, and smiles, the expression in her eyes softening.  
   
"- I think it's going to be much easier on me from now on."  
   
You wonder what she's talking about, but then she turns to you and smiles. Her grin is bright and genuine, and her eyes are shining with a wisdom far beyond her age.  
   
"I think you, of all people, will understand my position. Kagamin is very similar to Dai-chan, after all."  
   
You follow her gaze back to the two boys on the court. Your own stare is trained on Kagami, and your breath hitches when you see the look in his eyes, the gaze full of fire and of pure unbridled joy - _the gaze you fell in love with but was never directed at you_ \- fixed on the basketball, and on Aomine.

You feel an odd sense of confusion - is it possible for your own heart to sink and to soar at the same time?  
   
"Yeah… I think I do."  
   
\---  
   
The mini-game ends with Kagami sitting on the ground and Aomine strolling dispassionately towards Momoi. She leaps up, chirpily asking him about the game while handing him his jacket. Not wanting to intrude, you decide to check on Kagami, who's staring at the sky, a frown on his face.  
   
As you walk past Aomine, however, he shoots you a fleeting look loaded with suspicion. Or at least, you think he did – the glance had disappeared as fast as it came. Still, you involuntarily walk a little faster.  
   
\---  
   
You kneel next to Kagami, and he grins at you a little guiltily.  
   
"I'm sorry," he begins, "I was supposed to take you on a date, and yet I ended up playing basketball with that bastard Aomine."  
   
Shaking your head, you smile, much to his bewilderment. "It's alright. I had fun watching you two play," you say, reaching out a hand to help him up.  
   
Kagami smiles sheepishly at you, evidently glad that you're not angry.  
   
You can still see traces of that fire in his eyes, now reduced to smouldering ashes.  
   
\---  
   
Just after Aomine and Momoi have departed, Kagami offers to take you home. You decline, deciding to part ways at the train station instead.  
   
Kagami doesn't press the subject.  
   
Before you enter the station, however, you do make sure to address him politely.  
   
"Thank you, Kagami-kun. I had a nice time with you today."  
   
Kagami grins at you, his expression warm. "I had a nice time today too. Er… take care on the way home and… I'll see you around school."  
   
As you had expected, he doesn't offer to take you on another date, but surprisingly, it doesn't feel as painful as you had thought it would be.  
   
Besides, maybe he's not the one you're looking for.  
   
You smile at him one last time, before turning to join the evening crowd.  


You don't look back to check if he's still there. You already know the answer, anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> this was the only aokaga work i had planned on writing. i had also planned to post it for aokaga month, but apparently things hardly go according to plan, do they?


End file.
